I am an emotional eater... now what.

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MILFaspirations
MILFaspirations Posts: 108 Member
in Motivation and Support
I feel crappy this AM. My hubby pissed me off this morning before I left for work, so I stopped at McDonalds and proceeded to order a steak, egg, and cheese bagel with the damn hash brown and sat there in my car and ate it... w/ a diet coke.

I suck.
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Replies

  • sunshinedazed
    sunshinedazed Posts: 61
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    No, you're human. Yeah, you fell off the horse for a sec. Climb back on and re-focus. Realize that we cannot control what happens around us, only how we react to it. You've got this; hang in there!
  • DianatheRed
    DianatheRed Posts: 41
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    Must be the day for this. I wasn't happy this morning and it is taking everything I have not to dip into my children's candy! I slipped yesterday, though! Just keep in mind that one mistake won't kill you. Forgive yourself, exercise hard, and watch your intake the rest of the day. Start anew!!
  • sandimack
    sandimack Posts: 158 Member
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    Hey you vented, you came clean. Now get over it;)
    Next time go to the gym and sweat it out.
  • KellyBgetsfit
    KellyBgetsfit Posts: 1,713 Member
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    Being aware that you eat under stress is the first way to stop it. Maybe you can get a workout in after work? I find working out helps with my stress. If not, it's one slip. Try to think of an alternative for next, but realize you may slip again and that is okay.
  • edena1987
    edena1987 Posts: 66 Member
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    You have 2 other meals and 2 other possible snacks to make up for that mistake. Don't sweat it :)
  • MyFriendLinn
    MyFriendLinn Posts: 102 Member
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    You made the first step to recovery by admitting you are an emotional eater. I'm an emotional eater too.

    Most of the time, I win these days. I once brought a book that talked about feeding the hungry heart. And that is what we or at least I do....fill up the lonely, abandoned, places, the hurtfilled places, even the happy places with food.

    You need to pat yourself on the back and feel good about yourself. Bravo, you recognized this issue.

    What I do is plan my food out plan the work then work the plan.

    I've learned to grab a cup of tea instead, I've learned to soak in a hot bath, go for a walk...turn this destructive habit into a new healthy habit.

    You are here, you ate the McDonalds biscuit, its over, hope you enjoyed it, logg it and get right back on track the next meal because you are worth it. Everyone goes off the reserveration. Its o-k-a-y.

    Get back on your healthy eating plan, not next monday, not tomorrow....today, next meal.

    You can do this, feel good about yourself, this is a weight loss journey, not a sprint!
  • MILFaspirations
    MILFaspirations Posts: 108 Member
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    ahh girls. you're right..

    when i was eating that dang sammich i said.. oh well i guess i'll just binge all day and go to chipotle and eat pie and cake and all kinds of stuff....

    but that's just plain wrong.


    i'll go to the gym for my lunch break!!!!
  • samandlucysmum
    samandlucysmum Posts: 320
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    It's good that you felt guilt, and that you acknwledged what you were doing, I am the same, but I find that if the food is not their, or you don't go into the restaurant, you can't slip up, exercise is great for stress relief too, and has the oposite effect on your weight loss.

    P.S did you enjoy it?
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    great idea.
    just eat extra healthy today
    and carry on. one time can't ruin your diet!
  • Broken420
    Broken420 Posts: 56 Member
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    I'm right there with you. The most important thing is not to beat yourself up about it. It happened and now you move on. ;-)
  • MILFaspirations
    MILFaspirations Posts: 108 Member
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    it was good while i was scarfing it down, but immediately after i felt it was sodium overload and could feel a greasy film in my mouth.. YUK!!!!!!!!!
  • Malgorzata79
    Malgorzata79 Posts: 87 Member
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    Husbands - I swear!!!!

    I am too am an emotional and stress eater. But the past couple months (since I started losing weight), I always questioned myself before I ate - is this worth it? I worked so hard to lose the 2-3-4-5 lbs and is this bagel, donut really worth it. Sometimes it is. But majority of the time it isnt.

    Email me if you want to talk.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    You don't suck! You're human and you just resorted to a coping strategy that obviously works ("works" to some extent) for you. I think many of us here can relate to that! I'd even argue that it's better to not feel guilty about it. Try to take feelings of guilt and shame out of the equation. You did it, you acknowledged it and logged it, now move on. The day isn't ruined and one of the best habits to break with emotional eating is that feeling of "oh well I've ruined it now so I might as well just keep binging". You can eat healthily and get in a workout, you might even end up near your calorie goal. Get back on track straight away!

    Also, try to get some perspective on what damage has actually been done. Even if you eat normally for the rest of the day, and go over your calorie goal, I'd guess that you'd still be eating at a deficit and therefore still able to lose. Even if you go slightly over your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), it will hardly register on the scale since 1 lb of fat is roughly 3500 calories.

    So, yeah: it's not an ideal situation, and hopefully you can learn to break the habit of over-eating when you feel bad. I'm an emotional eater too and I haven't stopped completely, but it has gradually got much better. I agree that planning is really helpful. Plan your day's eating so you know what to stick to, and plan different coping strategies for when you feel like binging. In the grand scheme of things though, this one McD's meal is just a blip and will not derail your efforts. It's not the end of the world, so don't beat yourself up! :flowerforyou:

    ETA: Make sure you drink lots of water to combat the sodium overload and don't freak out if you put on a little water weight. If you don't usually have a high sodium diet, you probably will retain a little from this meal.
  • StarvingDiva
    StarvingDiva Posts: 1,107 Member
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    Please no negative self-talk. Berating yourself only makes you feel worse. Okay so you ate something not so ideal. Log it, vow to do better and move on with your day. Your one bad meal choice doesn't have to determine the rest of your day, nor your attitude. Please be kinder to yourself. I'm going to go all after school special on you but Words hit harder than a fist...so stop punching yourself in the face...
  • LivingHealthyLovingLife
    LivingHealthyLovingLife Posts: 56
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    Weight loss is an emotional journey as well and being an emotional eater myself, I have learned that it's all about the choices we make when we choose to eat emotionally. Keep in mind this doesn't happen overnight. For me grapes are a wonderful emotional food. I can eat a bunch of them and it allows me to take out my frustrations by all that chewing. lol especially if they're frozen.

    Look, it happens to the best of us but don't let it ruin the rest of your day.
    In the past after an emotional binge, I'd just say screw it and keep on eating. Put your foot down and say NO, this stops here and have a healthy rest of your day.
  • Squeeee
    Squeeee Posts: 71
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    I'm the same way. I tend to turn to food if I'm having a bad day. Lately, I've been trying to replace that urge with exercise to blow off steam instead of stuffing my face. I've still slipped a few times (I've only been at this for a little over two weeks) but I've noticed that by physically working out my frustrations, I'm able to think more clearly and I don't have the added guilt of having just demolished a bag of chips or something. At the very least, if I'm burning those calories, I can still have some of the junk food if it's what I really want.
  • HelloSweetie4
    HelloSweetie4 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Just keep a closer eye on your meals the rest of the day and get some exercise in and you'll be fine :-)
  • amandamotley
    amandamotley Posts: 63
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    Don't beat yourself up! I think what makes a healthy lifestyle vs. a diet is fitting in those little "slip-ups", which I prefer to call indulgences, without letting them de-rail you. Ideally they are a calculated decision rather than an emotional one, but learning to recover from it is a step in the right direction. No big deal! Even fitness models have cheat meals from time to time.
  • JoyfullySimpleFit
    JoyfullySimpleFit Posts: 137
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    Pick yourself up and start over. I mean we all do it and as we keep pushing forward we get better at it. The next time it might be a candy bar instead of McDonalds (not great but getting better), then it might be something a little better the next time.
    HOWEVER, I would suggest to try and channel that energy to exercise. Take it out in the gym or in the living room with a fitness dvd. Exercise it the BEST mood regulator you can get/do.
    Let it roll off your back and DO NOT give him the power to control your day or your mood. YOU have the power and control of that!
  • MILFaspirations
    MILFaspirations Posts: 108 Member
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    update! i worked out. woop!

    30 min on tread w/ incline half way and running in a few spurts.

    30 min circuit weights.

    and a 6 inch sub that was only 310 cals from subway!

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